The Governance
of Uppsala University
Presentation at the Siena MEHEM
Workshop, April 2, 2009
Linda Wedlin, Uppsala University, Sweden
Institutional Characteristics
History
• The oldest university in Northern Europe
founded in 1477
• Low activity between 1530s and 1595
• Land grant from the King in 1624
• 17th and 18th century: development of the
natural sciences (Celsius, Rudbeck, Linneus)
• 19th century: Romantic century
• 20th century: The rise of the modern university
Domestic Competitors
• Universities (10)
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One old (Lund, 1668)
Two late 19th century (Stockholm, Gothenburg)
Two mid-20th century (Umea and Linkoping)
Four new universities (former university colleges)
• Specialised Institutions (6)
• University Colleges (14)
• A Few Research Institutes
Some Basic Figures 2007
• Total revenues of € 430 million
– 70 % of the revenues for research and research training
• 6,000 employees corresponding to 4,600 FTEs
• 4,000 teachers and researchers corresponding to 3,000 FTEs
– 1,500 faculty members (36 % women)
– 1,000 with a Ph.D. (30 % women)
– 500 full professors (20 % women)
• 2,000 (33 %) employees have administrative functions
• 40,000 students
– 20,000 FTE (58 % women)
– 2,000 doctoral students (48 % women)
– 4,000 students graduate each year
Organizational Structure
Composition of the University Board
Student representatives with
three deputies; 3; 20%
Government appointees; 8;
53%
Faculty representatives with
one deputy; 3; 20%
VC with pro-VC as deputy; 1;
7%
3 union representatives (with 3 deputies) have the right to participate but not to vote.
Governing Bodies below the VC
• Three Discplinary Domain Boards
and Vice-Rectors
• A Faculty Board and Dean of
Educational Sciences
• Five Faculty Boards and Deans
within the Disciplinary Domain of
Humanities and Social Sciences
• Department Boards and Heads of
Departments
• At all levels faculty and student
influence
University Administration
Registrar
Evaluation Office
Student Affairs
Registrar’s Office
Information Office
Office for H & SS
Office for M & P
Office for S & T
PA Office
Financial Office
Buildings Office
Legal Office
International Office
Development Office
Telecommunications
Baltic University
Continuing Education
Service Functions
Funding
Field Level
• Education
– Number of FTEs
– Completion rates
– Tuition fees from individuals not permitted
• Research
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Significant government grants
Concentration to universities
Concentration to medicine, science and technology
Variety of sources
Tendencies towards market solutions
Priorities of innovation and “strategic allocation of resources”
Strong government involvement but increasing market links
University Income 2007
External Research Funding 2004-2007
University Costs 2007
Recruiting
Field Level
• University leaders
– Traditionally a collegial selection process
– From the 1980s an increasing government control over university
leadership
– Presently a trend towards more freedom
• Students
– Numerus clausus
– Centralized national application procedures
– Selection on the basis of school or test performance
• Faculty
– Double career tracks
– Bureaucratic selection procedures
Recruting a VC (2005)
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April 2005: Decisions to create an
Election Assembly and a Selection
Group (Chair+Deputy Chair+3 faculty+2 students+1 union representative)
May 2005: Appointment of members in
the Election Assembly
June 2005: Decision on profile and
engagement of a search consultant
October 2005: Proposal from Selection
Group to Election Assembly
November 2005: Decision by University
Board
December-January 2006: Appointment
by Government
February 2006: Decision on Pro-VC
July 2006: The new team in office
Election Assembly
Unions; 11; 17%
Science/Technology; 11; 17%
Medicine/Pharmacy; 7; 11%
Education; 2; 3%
Students; 21; 32%
Humanities/ Social Sciences;
13; 20%
Recruiting Students
• About 50 programs for first-year students
• About 45 programs on master level
• About 2,000 additional courses
• Programs and courses usually start both in the fall and in the
spring
• Central applications through the web
• On average 2 students for each opening and the most popular
programs have more than six students per opening
• Selection on the basis of school or test performance
Recruiting Faculty
• Department decision to get permission to start a recruitment process
• Decision by Faculty Board or Faculty Office to permit the recruitment
• Decision on job description
• The opening is advertised with a closing date at least three weeks later
• Outside experts of both sexes are called upon to evaluate the candidate
• Expert reports are delivered to the Recruitment Committee of the Faculty
• The Recruitment Committee makes a recommendation
• The relevant person (the VC or the Dean) negotiates the salary
• A decision is taken on hiring a person
• Appeals against the decision can be submitted within three weeks after the
decision
Monitoring
Field Level
• Quality
– Education
• Cyclical evaluations by a government agency
• So far no link to funding, but negative evaluations are increasingly
leading to warnings and removals of examination rights
– Research
• Discipline evaluations but no formal links to funding
• Accounts
– Management accounting systems
– Government reviews
Various government reviews but only indirect links to funding
Quality and Renewal 07 (KoF07)
Project Time-Table
Project Organization
Conclusions
Features of Governance
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An old complete state university high research activity
A majority of external members of the University Board
Three disciplinary domains and a Faculty of Education
Faculty and student influence on all levels
Personnel account for about 60 per cent of costs
One third of the staff in administration
State grants account for two-thirds of the revenues
A large number of programmes and courses offered, most of them with a
high demand
• Student recruiting through a national web-based application system
• Formalized procedures for recruiting leaders and faculty
• A large internal evaluation project of the university accomplished
Thank you for attention!